Sexual health charity Terence Higgins Trust has launched a £1.1m project to increase beneficiaries' involvement, which it hopes will act as a “blueprint” for the rest of the sector.

The three-year project has been funded by the Big Lottery Fund, and willsee the charity implement new approaches to adapt to the changing needs of its beneficiaries.

In its first phase, it will use social marketing to reach people who do not currently engage in the charity. Once established, it hopes that these innovations will serve as a blue print for other charities to follow.

Ian Green, chief executive at Terrence Higgins Trust, said: “Meaningful engagement across all areas of an organisation is never the easy option or the quick one, but it’s of vital importance in ensuring what you’re doing is what you should be doing.

“We look forward to learning with all sectors to innovate and test out new ways to properly involve our beneficiaries. It is only with them that we can ensure that what we do is frit for purpose and reflects what is needed in 2019 and beyond.”

James Harcourt, England grant-making director at the Big Lottery Fund, added: “It’s great that others in the sector will be able to learn from this project which puts people at the heart of an organisation’s development and delivery, and creates a culture of co-production.”

The project has been developed by consulting the public, private and voluntary sectors. To develop its next steps, the charity will continue to talk to beneficiaries and potential beneficiaries and assess their needs.